Not From Round Here
by Acestar
Summary: They've been to the Highlands, Cardiff and London. The TARDIS is Britainbound again! But is the second city what the Doctor and Rose really expected?
1. Life In The Old Girl Yet

The almost soothing rise and fall of the time rotor played on in the background as Rose once again delved through the myriad of outfits in the TARDIS wardrobe. Not for the first time, she wondered just **where** he'd got them from…

_Taptaptaptap tap, tap, taptap, taptap_  
Though they were worn through and flecked with grass stains from their almost endless running, the Doctor's plimsolls tapped out a merry rhythm against the console, beating along to another old 70's disco number he'd uncovered. His hair shook slightly as he nodded his head in time to the track, and a hand often strayed to push his thick-framed glasses back up the bridge of his nose. The chair threatened to overbalance as it wobbled dangerously on its two back legs.

The book was vaguely interesting, but nothing out of this world. _Well_, it was 'out of this world', obviously. If it was on board the TARDIS, it was almost certain to be from another time or place or planet or galaxy. He thumbed over another page idly, humming aloud as the guitar burst into a tricky solo. Not long before they landed, now.

He paused, feet stopping dead and whistle silencing. He cast a wary eye over the console beyond his feet…Everything may be looking ship-shape for now, but the old girl had drifted off course a couple of times…

With a final, almost satisfied growl, the time rotor fell quiet and still. A grin spread across the Doctor's face, lighting up his eyes. Closing the book and lowering his feet to the metal-grilled floor, he stood and laid one hand lovingly on the hexagonal structure.  
"Atta girl," he said quietly.


	2. English Spring

The rush of business workers had dissipated, leaving behind only the Big Issue sellers and window shoppers.  
And Carri.

Her hand trailed through the icy water lazily as she sat on the cold stone boundary of the fountain. Looking up at the feminine form lounging serenely in front of the town hall, she ran its nickname through her head for the thousandth time that morning.  
The Floosie in the Jacuzzi.  
The dull grey of the fountain complimented the lighter grey shade of the sphinx-like creatures that adorned the long steps down to street level. Grey, grey, grey. Even the sky was grey; but that was to be expected for late English spring. _Well, for any time in England_, she though sourly.

Removing her hand, she flexed it slowly to relieve some of the numbness that had taken over. As her small fingers slowly flushed pink, she sighed and shoved both hands into the pocket of her jeans. They were there for a matter of seconds- a sudden burst of vibration shocked her so much she almost lost her balance into the two feet of murky water.  
Cursing under her breath, she yanked her mobile phone from her pocket. 

"What do you think?"  
Rose stood in the doorway and twirled- though it had little effect. The bottom of the faded bell-bottom jeans she had found only fluttered a little at the side of the black plimsolls- scarily similar in design to the Doctor's own- she had found after digging through half a wardrobe of shoes to find the complete pair. The top was quite tight, but not enough to be indecent (though it made the Doctor smile), and was a rich crimson colour. It had a white collar attached, which failed to serve a purpose except to break up the splash of colour. However, one look at the sleeve length made one of the Doctor's eyebrows raise questioningly.

"You do realise we're in England? In spring time?"  
"Yeah," she stated in reply. "And?" she added as an afterthought.  
"Well," he said with a grin, making his way round the console to check all was well. "In my experience, English springs aren't forgiving enough for short sleeves."

Rose's hands went to her hips, though her face was all smiles. "It's the end of May," she pointed out. "April showers will have long gone." She looked him up and down thoughtfully, taking in his own outfit- as ever, a pinstripe suit, shirt and his long brown coat. "I reckon you'll be carrying that thing within an hour," she commented, nodding to indicate the coat. A sly smile spread across her face as she joined him at the console.

The Doctor checked the scanner for the state of the outside environment- and a smile of his own developed.  
"You might be right," he answered seriously. For a moment, Rose assumed he knew something she didn't- then she remembered he ALWAYS knew something she didn't, and dismissed it. 

His coated arm was offered to her. "Shall we?" he asked brightly. Rose grinned and slipped her arm through his.  
With a gentle pull, the external door was opened.

The rain was bouncing off the pavement in front of them.  
Rose groaned while the Doctor grinned. "Raincoats, third rail on the left, I believe," he chirped, with all the airs of a boy who had successfully put a whoopee cushion on the headmaster's chair.  
She whacked his sleeve playfully before scurrying back into the wardrobe to find a waterproof yet stylish jacket. 

The rain had come on so suddenly that Carri was soaked to the skin already. Running a hand through her hair, she found it in hanging in sodden clumps to her shoulders, its usually bright copper tones dulled to a dark brown. Her denim jacket felt twice its normal weight, but she knew better than to take it off and freeze in the sharp wind that had picked up round the council buildings.

She had taken shelter under the overhang of a block of offices round the corner from the fountain. The other meandering shoppers had fled to the warmth and soothing aroma of the coffee shops, but the thought of coffee made Carri shudder in disgust.  
_Great_, she thought sulkily. _Another day wasted_. Shivering against the cold and damp of her jacket, she stuffed both hands back into her pockets.

Her phone wasn't there.  
A wild panic took over for a moment- until she remembered putting it on the stone wall round the fountain, waiting for a reply message. She growled at her own stupidity.  
"Brilliant," she sighed, as the rain decided to hammer down even harder. As useless as it was, she pulled the collar of her jacket up around her neck. Taking a deep breath, she ran out back into the rain.

As she concentrated on not slipping down the puddle stone steps, the strange discordant grating went unnoticed. 


	3. The Armadillo

"So then, Birmingham."  
"Yes, Birmingham. England's second city, the 'City of a Thousand Trades'. Well, it used to be, half the car plants have been closed down and the football teams…well, best not to talk about them!'

Rose had to shake her head in disbelief at the Doctor's uncanny ability to rattle off completely useless pieces of information about any place they landed in. _Mind you_, she pondered. _He's had 900 years to swot up on it_.  
"What I mean is," she tried again, pushing one hand out into the rain- and quickly snatching it back from the forceful torrent. "Why Birmingham, why now? What kind of trouble you expecting this time?"

The Doctor feigned a look of hurt. "Trouble?! Me?! Whatever makes you say that? Should know by now, you're the one that's jeopardy friendly, not me." Her one raised eyebrow made him grin. "Just thought you might fancy a bit of shopping, that's all."  
He looked up at the sky before striding out. "Come on!" he called back cheerfully.  
Rose cast her own, rather sceptical look up at the unrelenting skies. "What's wrong with Oxford Street?" she mumbled to herself before braving the rain herself.

But one step later, Rose's world was thrown into darkness as a dark, warm cloth smothered her face.  
"Doctor!" she complained, stepping back and out of the back of his coat. He was standing still just outside the TARDIS doors, and something was looming in front of him- something inhuman, ancient.  
"A sphinx!" The Doctor declared happily, running his hand over the smooth beige stone of the huge statue. "Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Bit of a strange place to put it, but beautiful none the less." He turned to his less-than-impressed companion. "So, where to?"

"What the-"

Both Rose and the Doctor spun round at the addition of a new voice. Carri stood, dripping wet, mouth agape at the sight of the TARDIS. The pair watched as she took a couple of cautious steps forward, reaching out one hand towards the faded blue exterior…  
She snatched it back a couple of inches before her fingertips grazed it, clutching her hand as if it had been scalded. For the first time, she seemed to notice the Doctor and Rose.

She looked from one to the other in silence, smiling at little at Rose's outfit. Rose shuffled uncomfortably, moving a little closer in to the Doctor. _What am I like?_ She scolded herself. _Scared of a girl!_

"Got caught out in the rain, I see," ventured the Doctor brightly, nodding at the girl's straggly clumps of hair, stuck together with water. The girl grinned back, using her thumb and forefinger to squeeze the water out of one shoulder-length strand.  
"It's England," she said by way of explanation. The girl's accent wasn't local, the Doctor caught immediately. It sounded more London…maybe a bit of Irish….or possibly South African….Australian? "You come to expect it. I'm guessing that thing's not a piece of modern art."

She meant the TARDIS. Rose saw the Doctor's expression alter ever so slightly- was it a fleeting moment of panic, or was it curiosity at how much the girl knew…?  
"You could say that," he replied. "I'm the Doctor."  
"Rose," she put in, just to beat the Doctor to it for once. He sneaked a sly glance sideways at her, and she gave him a smug smile back. The girl laughed, a light, tinkling laugh that seemed to warm the air.  
"Carri," she said as her laughter subsided. "Pleased to meet you. So what brings you to Birmingham?"  
"I was wondering that myself," Rose added, rounding on the Doctor with an enquiring glance.  
"Shopping!" he declared, turning to Carri. "Am I right in say there's a big new shopping centre around here?"  
Carri nodded. "How can you miss it? Part of it looks like an armadillo from the outside. It's fairly new."

On hearing the 'armadillo' reference, Rose's brain clicked. She remembered something on the news about a big department store being at the heart of a new shopping centre in the second city-  
Travelling with the Doctor made everything a possible product of alien intervention. _Maybe it was built by aliens as some kind of hideout_, she thought. _Or maybe it's a cover up for something trying to…to break the economy or something._

"Well then," she heard the Doctor announce, snapping her back to the present. "Let's take a look before the rain makes a comeback. Carri, after you."

Rose followed obediently- but a shared look with Carri consoled her that only the Doctor had any clue what was going on.  
_No change there, then_, she thought. 


	4. Needless Alley

Despite the Doctor's statement, it was only as the trio headed down New Street that Carri actually realised it has stopped raining. And just as suddenly realised that the wind had picked up again, sending icy fingers through her sodden jacket to her skin. Deciding to focus on the surroundings rather than her chattering teeth, Carri took the chance to play Tour Guide.

"I'm right in thinking you're not from round here, then?" she asked. The Doctor started his answer with a grin.

"You could say that! Rose is from London- Surrey is SE15, if I recall..."

Rose seemed surprised that the Doctor knew her postcode, adding to Carri's thoughts of how they knew each other.

"...As for me- well, I'm from a bit further afield. A fair bit further. Lots futher, infact..."

He seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else; Rose noticed and gave a small cough, bringing him back to the here-and-now.

"Yes! Sorry, rambling away. What about you, are you visiting the city or did you move here?"

Carri shook her head. "Lived here all my life, a village about seven miles out from the centre."

The Doctor slowed a bit as his brow furrowed. "That's interesting, because-"

"You don't have the accent." Rose beat the Doctor to it, and they shared another playful exchange of expressions while Carri laughed.

"I get that a lot. No idea why I don't have it, both my parents do. Not much, but they do. My nan was Irish though, and I spent a fair bit of time with her-"

"Irish, I was right!"

Rose rolled her eyes and mouthed an apology to Carri. "He's always like this," she added, sotto voce.

"Then I feel sorry for you!" Carri replied. The two shared a stifled giggle before-

"Needless Alley! Now THAT'S a road name!"

For the second time that day, Rose got a mouthful of the Doctor's coat as he stopped abruptly. "You're kidding" she managed, backing up to see what the fuss was about.

And true enough, on the corner of a side street was a road sign bearing the name 'Needless Alley'. The alley itself seemed small and dark, and seemed to lead-

"It doesn't go anywhere that I've found," Carri explained. "Loads of people miss it, pass it by like it doesn't exist. Great name though."

The Doctor spent another moment staring at the sign. i Ah well, easily amused! /i Carri deduced. She was still trying to fathom the pair out...

"So where's this armadillo thing then?" Rose asked.


End file.
